How to Donate Land to a Charity for a Deduction

A person can donate land for a charity to build on, or for the charity to sell and create revenue. Providing tax-exempt organization with a sale-able asset and staying within the Internal Revenue Service's rules and limitations, then donating can be a good alternative if you can’t sell the parcel, or an investor is just looking for the deduction The donation has to be to a real IRS charity. One that has filed the proper forms and is in good standing. Also your deduction can capped at either 50 or 30 percent of your adjusted gross income per year. If you’re over the cap then the deduction may flow over to the following year. If your income exceeds $250-$300k then itemized deductions can be reduced 80%. If may also depend if you file married or single. The issue with donating land and real estate is that the charity will then own it and have to pay state property taxes. If the land is not widely sought after then it may be difficult even for the charity to sell it and fund there goals. Other charities are real estate specific. Housing, conservation and environmental organizations are the big three. They may wish to conserve the land for endangered species, or they will later use it and never to develop land. Firms often buy land to donate to environmental groups in exchange for developing another area. A seller who wishes to donate land will still likely have to go through escrow, since the charity will wish to have clear title on the parcel without debts, and encumbrances. If there is a mortgage then that will need to be paid off and a re-conveyance filed and recorded. After you have picked the charity and made the donation then you or your accountant will need to mark it on Schedule A of at 1040 tax return. There is a form 8283, which is where the IRS has you detail your non-cash contributions. This option is a great way to get the deduction on land that you invested in some time ago, but are not reaping any rewards.

Los Angeles Orders Quake Retrofit for Many Older Buildings

Recent Associated Press Article This is not necessarily regarding land, but it projects that capital in Los Angeles County will focus on developed Real Estate. Thousands of older wood and concrete apartment buildings vulnerable to collapse in a major earthquake would get costly upgrades under sweeping retrofitting rules passed Friday by the Los Angeles City Council. The mandate would affect as many as 13,500 so-called soft-first-story buildings, which are typically wood-frame structures with large spaces such as parking lots on the ground floor. As many as 1,500 brittle concrete buildings would also require upgrades. The measure passed on a 12-0 vote. "There's no question that we're going to have an earthquake. The question is, when?" Councilman Gil Cedillo said. "In here we've laid out the groundwork for the seismic retrofitting that needs to be done." Before the vote, representatives for residential landlords and commercial building owners signaled their approval of the plan — while expressing concerns about potential costs. City leaders will now have to agree on how the estimated $5,000-per-unit retrofitting would be split between tenants and landlords. The law currently allows owners to increase rents up to $75 per month to pay for a required earthquake retrofit, but both sides say such a hike is too steep. One proposal is to divide the costs 50-50 and cap possible monthly rent increases at $38. To help pay for the upgrades, apartment groups are looking for certain financial support, such as breaks on property and state income taxes and business license and building permit fees for owners who retrofit. The proposed quake retrofitting mandate is part of an effort by Mayor Eric Garcetti to make the city resilient to major earthquakes. His plan released in December focuses on rapidly identifying and retrofitting at-risk residential and commercial buildings, fortifying major water systems that would be severed by a huge quake and keeping telecommunications systems operating. The goal of the mayor's broad plan is to keep the region sufficiently functional to avoid a long-term economic collapse despite what seismologists say is an inevitable jolt on the order of a magnitude-7.8 quake caused by a 200-mile-long rupture of the mighty San Andreas Fault. Wood apartments will be given seven years to complete construction once an owner is ordered by the Department of Building and Safety to retrofit the building. Owners of brittle concrete buildings will have 25 years to do the work. Estimates for upgrades for soft-first-story structures range from $60,000 to $130,000 per apartment building. Taller concrete buildings can cost millions of dollars to strengthen. Studies estimate that a massive earthquake in the Los Angeles area could kill up to 18,000 people and cause some $250 billion in damage. Sixteen people were killed in the collapse of a soft-first-story building during the Jan. 17, 1994, Northridge earthquake. The magnitude-6.7 jolt was the last significant seismic disaster in the Los Angeles region. U.S. Geological Survey seismologist Lucy Jones, the mayor's earthquake science adviser who was a consultant for the council, was on hand for the vote. She pushed for passage of the plan, saying lives would be saved. "It's not every day we have the opportunity to save lives," Council President Herb Wesson said after the vote. "Today we had that opportunity."

General Probate Procedure for Real Property in California

An estate of less than $100,000 which doesn’t include real property (real estate) can be done as a mini-probate. According to attorney’s we are familiar with, it simply needs an affidavit of death, and a declaration with a description of the assets.

A Probate proceeding is necessary whenever a decease person has left assets which have not been placed in a trust or a joint tenancy before death. An estate value of less than $100,000 doesn’t have to go through a full probate proceeding. Also if the real estate is under $100,000 there is a special "small estates" procedure that heirs can use under California probate code section 13151. A full probate can take seven months or more and use up capital in legal fees, and court costs. A small probate would take two months and can be done for $1500 to $2500 with most attorneys in California. It can be a little different when assets include real estate.
In Real Estate Probate, If the property is appraised as having a value of less than $20,000 it can be taken by affidavit, which can even be done without an attorney. However, as recommended by attorneys, if the estate is worth less than $100,000 and the real property is worth more than $20,000, you will need to petition the court. If you choose to tackle a probate on your own in order to save the $1500 to $2500 legal and court fees then you may need to get into some reading such as How to Probate an Estate in California by Julia Nissley. It does come recommended via online book stores. Typically asking questions of court clerks will likely get a reply of “I can’t tell you, I am not the Judge”. Also, forget about seeing the judge.
You can likely save yourself anguish and heartache by seeking the advice of an attorney, so you essentially get a third party to handle your family affairs. We do recommend that you handle the probate as soon as possible. If you wait until you get an offer on your property it will takes months to complete the probate and the buyer may move onto other opportunities.